Happy Black Friday, ladies and gents! (Hi to all the guys/parents/friends who were sent this post for gifting ideas, welcome to the fam.). I hope you had a fabulous and filling Thanksgiving with people you love and have been working through your holiday gift lists. And in case you need a little more inspiration, I am here for you.Just like our Philly guy gift list, my usual 10 gift ideas were doubled, so there’s plenty of gift ideas, no matter what your budget. This year, I went with a lot of things I would like to receive (obviously), but branched out into different types of gifts, because it’s really so amazing the variety of super cool things made right here in Philly. Etsy is our friend, folks. Now, onto the gifts!Continue Reading…

Since I’ve moved to this city, my mind is constantly consumed with various running lists of my favorite places in Philly. Plus, my lists of “places I must try ASAP” seem to be never-ending (to the dismay of my bank account). I think these unconquerable lists always come back to the fact that there are simply so many places to fall in love with, and once you find a gem, it’s hard not to keep coming back.

Some of you may be familiar with a little local bloggers group I’m a part of called PHLBloggers. We recently participated in a fun event where each of us compiled all of the reasonswhy we love Philly, and the lists came out great! I wanted to share with you my list of current Philly favorites (plus: two bonus spots I’ve fallen in love with since our lists were published). Enjoy!

Our city is filled with tons of beautiful little gems that frequently make me stop, appreciate, and then typically snap an Instagram photo or two. On top of all of the gorgeous Rittenhouse or Society Hill apartments, there are some places that I look at say: okay, yes, I could “live” here. I could wake up everyday with a smile on my face if I was surrounded with this much beauty. So I wanted to highlight some of these gorgeous little structures for you, and remind you of how pretty our city really is!

I am very lucky that my family lives relatively close to Philly, making their trips frequent (and welcomed). Included in those trips are our aptly titled “Girls Weekends,” where my mom, sister, sister’s puppy Ellie, and I (sorry, dad!) romp around the city eating, shopping, and laughing. Thanks to one of my Christmas gifts to my mom & sis (gift cards – not my most creative year), we picked one of the the season’s first warm weather weekends and had a lovely time. So, with Mother’s Day quickly approaching, I wanted to share the deets of what I think was a pretty perfect Mother Daughter Day in Philadelphia.

Philly, you are the best city of all the cities. In honor of your loveliness, I’ve teamed up with four other fab Philly lady bloggers to bring our readers the ultimate list of all the things you must do, see, eat, drink, and visit in our fair city. A Philly bucket list, if you will, filled with unique things to make you say “hmmm that sounds interesting,” and more obvious things to make you go, “duh! Why have I not done that yet?” Below you’ll get my contribution to the list, and when you’re done, click over to the rest of the list on each blog. Here goes!

Fall is my favorite season. During the weeks leading up to the holidays, there is something special in the air that makes me a very happy girl. In addition to hot cider, riding boots, and not sweating every time I walk somewhere, bringing all things fall inside my apartment is pretty important too. I have a special obsession with three scents in particular around this time of year, and you can pick each of them up in-store in Philly.

The Bath & Body Works Leaves candle is literally heaven on earth. I honestly don’t know how many of these I have burned through over the years, but the trick is to stock up before they stop selling for the year. I, unfortunately, have not stocked up yet, and withdraw symptoms are coming.

Get it at: Bath & Body Works (1625 Chestnut Street or 1851 South Christopher Columbus Boulevard)

I had forgotten how amazing LUSH’s It’s Raining Men Shower Gel was in the “off season,” but as soon as Labor Day rolled around, my love was renewed. It smells like honey and happiness and I literally use it every shower from September through, like, February.

Get it at: LUSH (normally 1525 Walnut Street, but this location is closed as they are building a LUSH SPA. Ohhh my gosh. In the meantime, try the Cherry Hill Mall.)

As we are nearing December 25th, picking up a last minute gift for your best gal pal does not have to be as stressful as it sounds. There is still plenty of time to run down the street (or even across town) to pick up one of these gifts from a Philly retailer. No time? Don’t you worry, I’ve got online options too! Let’s see…

1. A Taste of Childhood: What better way to spend some time with your BFFs than a little pottery painting at this fabulous all-inclusive BYOB studio? The Expressive Hand gift card, available at The Expressive Hand (622 South 9th St.)

7. A Glitzy Hairpiece: I have been wearing the same Anthro headband for 5+ years, and every time I wear it, I get compliments. It’s worth the price tag. Amaranthine Headband, $32, available at Anthropologie (1801 Walnut St.)